‘Tennis is about being fluid’: how Iga Swiatek is drawing on her time with Rafael Nadal to regain No 1 spot
Winner of six grand slams is changing her strategy after a run of poor results, helped by time in Spain with 39-year-old legend
Iga Swiatek had little interest in tennis as a teenager, but the one exception was Rafael Nadal. She spent her formative years idolising the Spaniard, who won 22 majors and, from afar, soon became one of his most avid students.
His influence is evident in the heavy topspin the Pole generates with her forehand, still a singular weapon on the women’s tour, proof of the intensity she demands of herself on every point and her four French Open titles earned by the time she was barely 23.